a blog for my short and long-term memory loss




Sunday, January 23, 2011

One Day I Will Remember These Times and Laugh (But We're Not There Yet)































Anna Lea, is our beautiful middle child. Her name has been passed down from her great grandmother Diana, to her grandmother (my mom) Jamaelea, to me, Rebekah Lea. She is built a little differently than our other two children. She is tall for her age, is very slender with petite features, and has the tiniest buns you ever saw. She has no fear of strangers, and is fascinated with animals. She could melt your heart with one smile. Right now she is 2 and 1/2 years old. I know I will forget some of the things that she does one day, and want to be able to remember a few. Right now these memories do not make me laugh, but hopefully one day they will:)






When I go to bed at night, most of my energy throughout the day has been spent on Anna Lea. She will get her mind set on something, and will scream and pitch the biggest fit if she cannot see her plan through. She is FULL of energy. Some of her daily activities include: eating Cheez-its in the dryer, hiding underneath her bed or in the closet at nap time, pouring all of my fake apples down the central heat vent, waking up her brother from his nap by pouring a whole bag of cheese puffs in his baby bed, pulling all of her clothes and everyone else's clothes out of the closet into one big pile, poking holes into the living room wall using one of Rob's tools, tearing down our beautiful black and white wallpaper in the dining room, taking off her dirty diaper during nap time and smearing poop LITERALLY all over her playroom and all of the toys in the playroom, getting into the Vaseline and smearing it all over the changing table and in the carpet too, of course, I could continue, but for sake of time will stop.






I know God must have a very special plan for Anna Lea's life. I am excited to see what it is!





Thursday, January 13, 2011

Hang in There!

I must admit it has been a whole lot easier using the treadmill this week. Last week the only thought I was able to have was "I am about to pass out!". This week it has been considerably easier to make it the whole 30 minutes. I have been doing fairly well on my new diet also. I don't know if it's the snow or what, but I have had a huge appetite this week so it has been very hard! I know that there is an Edward's Cookies and Creme Pie in our freezer, and every time I open the freezer door, there it is just begging me to eat some of it. But, I have NOT!!! I am waiting until Saturday, the one day week I'm allowed to have sweets, before I devour a piece.

I always thought that I hated all types of fish, and I hated that because I know it is SO good for you. But, I have recently discovered that I do like Tilapia. I have been buying it in the freezer section at our grocery store. It is also extremely quick and easy to prepare. Just run cold water over it to thaw it. Spray a broiling pan with non-stick spray. Sprinkle blackening spices on both sides, and broil for 5 minutes on the first side. Turn your fish over, and broil for 4 more minutes on the other side. Make sure you use your top oven rack and that you have it pretty close to the top. It is DELICIOUS!! Serve it with rice, steamed broccoli, or any other of your favorite veggies. My whole family loves it, and it is a GREAT meal that I can feel good about serving them! If you have any easy healthy meal ideas, I would love to hear them!

Monday, January 10, 2011

The Perfect Snow Day!!





looking out our front door


Today we woke up to the perfect snow day!! During the night it had snowed about 8 inches!!! The kids (and moma and daddy) were very excited to get out and play in it!! The last snow that Rob and I remember was what we refer to as the "Blizzard of 93". We were 11 years old. I lived in Campbellsville, Ky at the time. I remember I had slept downstairs with my sister Hannah and we both woke up to about a foot of snow with several inches of ice on top of it. The heavy ice had knocked out all of the power. We had a kerosene heater that we were able to use to stay warm. I remember it as a fun adventure!


Rob lived in Athens, TN at the time. His memories include waking up to lots of snow as well. He remembers playing in the snow, then his whole family went over to Gram and Poppy's (his grandparents) house to stay for several days until their power was turned back on.


Here is how we enjoyed our day. First we put on all of our layers of clothing.



Anna Lea, Myself, and Wyatt



Almost ready


Rob and Layla sledding down the hill in front of our house

Anna Lea
Wyatt
We had all been outside about 10 minutes, and Wyatt and Anna Lea decided they had already had enough.

After playing in the snow for a while, we of course, had to come in and have hot chocolate.




We all thoroughly enjoyed our beautiful day of snow, and it looks like we will continue to enjoy it a for a few more days.








































































Thursday, January 6, 2011

My new Frenemy (is that how you spell it?)

(Just ignore the children:)

As I mentioned in my previous post, one of my new goals for this year is to get myself into better shape! The two areas that I am focusing on to accomplish this goal are eating better and actually doing some cardio once in a while.

Everyone is at different levels, stages, and ages. What will work for me might not work for you and vice versa. One thing women especially are prone to do is compare their body with someone else's body! That can work to your advantage (if you are looking at someone who is in worse shape than you) or disadvantage (in my case if I am comparing myself to a size 2 teenager who hasn't had 3 kids!). The point is - Don't compare your body to anyone else! Everybody has different builds. You know better than anyone else what a realistic goal for yourself is. Set your goal and STICK to it!

Now I don't know about you, but I can always find a way to justify eating a brownie or skipping a day of cardio. That is why I have to think through and know exactly what my "rules" are before I start. This year I have started a no white sugar or flour diet. I am not allowed to eat any foods or drinks that contain sugar or white flour, ie., rolls, cake, cookies, cereals, white rice, sweet tea, etc... To me this diet focuses on the quality of the food I am eating and not so much on the quantity. Fresh and cooked fruits and veggies, whole grain breads and pastas, dairy, lean meats and fish are all things that I will be eating. My goal is to do this for 6 weeks. I am allowing myself one day a week to eat whatever I want (for me that will be chocolate in any form I can find it). I am also allowing myself one teaspoon of sugar a day for my coffee. (tried it without and couldn't do it) I started my six weeks this past Saturday, and I have already SEEN some results and the first week isn't even over!

The other part of my 6 week "campaign" is cardio. I have set the goal for myself of 30 minutes a day, 5 times a week. Like I said before, everyone is at different levels. You know what will work best for you. Be realistic. Think about what areas you want to improve in, set a specific time frame and make up your own "rules"!

When you finish your 6 weeks or whatever time frame you choose to do, REWARD yourself for sticking with it. Go out to eat, buy a new outfit, do something fun!

Everyone could probably use a little encouragement when it comes to taking better care of our bodies. I hope that reading this has inspired you in some way. Feel free to leave any motivational comments you have below;)

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

one of THOSE kind...

I am one of THOSE kind of people who love to plan, organize, and make lists! I really do enjoy it. It gives me great pleasure to sit down with a pen and paper and write down all of the things I need to do, need to remember, need to get at the grocery, or need need to make another list for. Yes, I admit, that I will occasionally add something to one of my lists that I have already completed, just so that I can draw a huge line through it. I just love the feeling of getting something accomplished I guess.

A brand new year is one of the best times to - you guessed it - plan, organize, and make lists! I would love it if my husband shared my love of "seeing things written on paper". But, he does not. He would much rather mull it over in his mind for days and days. On a rare occasion he will tell me what he's contemplating, then suddenly (for me, not him because he has been thinking about it for days) make his decision and do it! To me that way of making decisions takes all of the excitement out of it!

I have already been brainstorming and scribbling down lots of things I would love to accomplish or do a better job of in 2011. Certain things on my list include: organizing parts of our house that need to be better organized, getting in shape (more details on that later), doing a better job managing the money God gives us, and being able to freeze/store lots of vegetables from our garden this summer.

I really love to write out a plan or goals for a new year, and I am sure that to some extent most everyone has one type of plan or another that they would love to get accomplished this year.
As I have been planning and writing, God keeps reminding me what Proverbs 19:21 says,

"Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the LORD that will stand."

This has been a great reminder for me. I hope to carry this verse with me throughout the year, always being mindful that I can create what I think to be the best plan, but God can change that plan at any time to fulfill His purposes. That is what I really want anyway, His plan to be fulfilled, because his plan is the most perfect plan for me. (and you).

Sunday, January 2, 2011

A Personal Note...



I recently finished reading the book Radical. We have been going through it in our Connect Group at church. I would strongly recommend anyone who wants to be challenged in all areas of your Christianity to read it. It will definitely envoke a wide range of emotions from anger to sadness. If you do decide to read it, stick with it so that you will hear the whole heart of the author. This book has really opened my eyes and heightened my senses to my own needs and the needs of the world. It will rock your world!! (Hopefully in a good way:)



The second book, Experiencing God, has been around for a while. I had never heard of it until recently. It was offered as a Bible study through our church this past fall. I wish I had been exposed to it ALOT sooner! The main concept of the book has been LIFE CHANGING for me!! I cannot believe I have never heard the concepts presented in this book before now! If you ever have the opportunity to go through this study, DO IT! It will change your life!

Happy New Year!!








Happy New Year Everyone!!!